When we first laid eyes on the Lamborghini Urus, we thought it was stunning, but a long shot for production. If a Detroit News report is to be believed, the high-riding Lambo could go into production for the 2016 or 2017 model year.

The report cites comments from Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkleman in an interview in Tokyo last week. According to Winkleman, “We’re working on it and it will come,” he continued, “which will be good for the brand.”

The Lambo CEO pointed out that while the recent luxury binge in China may be slowing down, there are opportunities for growth in Japan, the Middle East and United States. Part of that growth will have to come from new models, and as we’ve seen with other performance-focused brands, SUVs sell.

Consider BMW’s success with the X5 and the sales numbers of the Porsche Cayenne. A sportscar brand can deliver an SUV without watering down its reputation for performance. Also consider that Lamborghini is owned by Volkswagen, which also owns Bentley– a brand that recently announced its own plans to build an SUV.

When the Urus goes into production in ’16 or ’17, it will be the first production SUV by the brand since production of the LM002 ended in 1993. Known as the “Rambo Lambo,” it was an unsuccessful attempt to produce military vehicles. Given the sales success of other performance SUVs and the buzz already swirling around the concept, we predict that the Urus will be a hit.